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The coronavirus pandemic made the summer transfer market different from all the previous ones, but there were still many deals made, and it may take a look at the main ones here. The window might be closed on the major leagues in Europe, but here are the best rumors from around the world.
MAIN STORY: Chelsea enters the race for Messi
It seems increasingly likely that Lionel Messi will leave Barcelona when his contract expires in the summer, and according to Guillem Balague, Chelsea are on the line of a sensational coup to sign the Argentine forward.
The Blues are said to be “in the equation” for the 33-year-old should he leave the Catalan capital. Messi tried to leave last summer but was forced to watch the final year of his contract.
Chelsea will be encouraged by the fact that there will be no transfer fee, and they may feel like they can afford their salary despite having spent £ 230 million over the summer.
Could Lionel Messi join Chelsea if he leaves Barcelona in the summer? Getty
Manchester City is also on the hunt, and with Pep Guardiola signing a contract extension, meeting Messi could be part of the coach’s great plan at the Etihad.
Barça, Liverpool turn to Garay
Barcelona and Liverpool are two clubs in desperate need of defensive reinforcements, with Sport reporting that both are tempted to sign free agent Ezequiel Garay, who has not played since suffering a cross-injury with Valencia in February.
The experienced Argentine central defender would be a short-term solution for both clubs as they look to deal with a growing number of injuries.
Liverpool are now planning the rest of the season without Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho are also out.
Barcelona now miss Gerard Piqué for several months, with Samuel Umtiti and Ronald Araujo also on the sidelines. Ronald Koeman was forced to line up Barça B defender Oscar Mingueza at Dynamo Kiev in the middle of the week, and although he played well, the Barça manager will undoubtedly want more experience to guide his team until the end of the season.
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Chelsea to enter into talks with Alaba in January
Bayern Munich and David Alaba are at a standstill after discussing terms to extend the center-back’s contract beyond its expiration this summer. And, having been linked with players like Real Madrid and Juventus in previous weeks, it seems increasingly likely that the 28-year-old will leave the Allianz Arena as a free agent at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Adding fuel to that fire, Alaba’s agent Pini Zahavi is preparing to hold talks with Chelsea in January about a possible move to west London, according to Bild. With a deeply competitive field between Bayern and their ninth consecutive Bundesliga title, and the prospect of repeating as Champions League champions, it would seem unlikely that the Bavarians will sanction the sale of Alaba mid-season.
That could pave the way for Chelsea, or any other stakeholder, and Paris Saint-Germain is also said to be following the Austria international, to sign him on a free transfer in the summer.
Tap-ins
– Manchester United are being linked with another “new Lionel Messi”, this time in the form of Thiago Almada of Velez Sarsfield, writes Tuttomercatoweb. United tried to sign the youngster in the summer but failed to get the deal out of line, and while Manchester City is said to be interested as well, United are in a bind.
– Jurgen Klopp remains confident that he can keep Georginio Wijnaldum at Liverpool, according to the Mirror. The report suggests that despite Barcelona’s interest, Klopp believes there is still time for the Dutch international to agree to an extension of his contract, which expires this summer. However, Wijnaldum can sign a pre-contract with a foreign club in January, and the longer it takes to sign a new deal, the more likely he is to leave.
Source: espn.co.uk
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